The effects of tourism on Box Hill By Angus Crawford

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Transcript of The effects of tourism on Box Hill By Angus Crawford

The effects of tourism on Box Hill By Angus Crawford

Introduction Aims and Investigative MethodsAim:To investigate the impact of visitors on vegetation and environment of Box Hill, TQ 175 520 (this is a six figure grid reference, on a OS map). By doing this we did two experiments. The first experiment was the Trampling investigation.

Trampling Investigation

The Trampling Investigation was an investigation to find out to find out the effects of erosion at the Burford Spur path. We also did an infiltration investigation on Burford Spur where we measured the soil depth and how much water would soak into the ground per minute. We also measured the maximum plant height. Equipment:Tape measure quadrat (0.25 x 0.25)soil pinMetre RulerInfiltration KitBlock of woodInfiltration tubeStop watchBottle of WaterInvestigative Methods ContinuedEnvironmental Impacts

Our second Experiment , which was continually carried on through the day at four different parts at Box Hill such as Burford Spur. The impacts we investigated was :LitterDog FoulingNoiseAir QualityVandalismAir QualitySpaceGeology

Box Hill ProfileClay with flintsNutrient rich soilsChalkNutrient poor soilsFlora Flora is the particular area of plants in a habitat.

Improved grassland; 5 species in a one metre square reduce diversity

Unimproved chalk grassland;40-50 species in a one metre square.

40% of the total U.K wild protection of Box trees

An example of an rare plant on Box Hill is an orich.

Fauna

There are 14 different species of Butterfly. The most endemic species on Box Hill is the the Box Hill bug.

There are also rumours that the world's largest slug, The Ash Black slug originates from here as well as the UK's only tarantula called the Purseweb spider.Designations

SSISite of special scientific interest

SACSpecial area of conservation

AONBArea of outstanding beauty

Country ParkPart of Metropolitan, green belt

Background FactsWe used this equipment because it helps us investigate the amount of vegetation as we got a 10 metre ruler from the path into longer many more species. For example when we were 2 metres away from the path there were 22 Broad leafed grass. Geology is the science of what the actual or physical make of the land is or whats on it i.e substance.

This is the profile or gradient of the hill the maximum gradient of Box Hill is14.6% . The profile is what the Hill looks like e.g is it steep or not ?1200 acres (approximately 1000 football pitches) in sizeIt is owned and managed by the National trustIt has been popular for around 200 years.Most visitors used to arrive by train ( Box Hill and West Humble station) and walk to the top of Box Hill.Now unfortunately most people drive to the top which is not good for the environment, Did you know the average distance people walk at Box Hill is only 200 metres ? And finally Box Hill is a 'Honey Pot Site'- an area of special interest or appeal to tourists.This is a piece of field work for for my Common Entrance Geography. I have chosen to study Box Hill in Surrey, part of the North Downs and the impact of tourism on the vegetation and surrounding Environment. I studied this by doing a number of different experiments during a day of field work.

Why did I choose to study the impacts of tourism of Box Hill?

I chose to study the impact of tourism on Box Hill because Box Hill is very sustainable as it is owned and managed by the National Trust, so others in the future can hopefully use Box Hill as well . Also I can undertake investigations to look at ways of reducing the amount of damage from tourists. I can also investigate the erosion that has occurred from past times to present day and even perhaps help us record a population survey. And it is a very interesting topic.

Why do people come to Box Hill?

Quite a lot of people come to Box Hill each year, in fact about 1 million tourists come because it has fantastic views and therefore many keen photographers come here to take photos. It also has many different Natural History monuments across the hill for example ' The Old Fort'. And for some Biologists there are a lot of plants for some people to study Botany. There are also other activities including horse riding, walking , orienteering, picnics and finally geography field trips for other keen geographer's like myself. And one event that happened over the summer months was the men's road race cycling event as part of the Olympics, where they went up Box Hill nine times.

Results for Environmental IssuesWhere is Box Hill?

Box Hill is situated in Surrey approximately 30 miles from South West London. The hill also looks over the River Mole . The OS grid reference for Box Hill is TQ 179 511. Box Hill is also part of the North Downs.The first place I visited was Burford Spur where I undertook two experiments first of which was the 'Trampling Investigation' second was the Environmental Issues'.The second place I visited was 'the old fort' We didn't do anyexperiments here but we found out that it was built in the 1890's to protect England from invasions from Europe.The third place I visited was the 'vistors centre' where we undertook one experiment for Environmental Issuses'.The final place I visited was 'Lodge Hill' where we did one experiment as well called Environmental Issuses'. In the distance from 'Lodge Hill you can see 'Burford Spur'.And Finally Here is a picture of the field trip company building that took us around Box Hill it is called Juniper Hall and is also owned by the National Trust.View Point Environmental ResultsVisitors Centre Environmental ResultsBurford Spur Environmental resultsLodge Hill Environmental IssuesFauna is the animals of a particular area or habitat.Key For Environmental results0-No litter Visible1-Small flecks or litter visible2-Litter visible,but does not dominate scene3-Litter clearly visible and detrimental to the scene4-Large amount of litterDog fouling01234-None--Droppings present but no significant hazard-Constantly having to avoid droppings whilst walking0- Quiet and peaceful1-General background noise2- Specific sounds3-Strong local sounds4-Extremely noisy Noise0-Clean,fresh air1-2- Exhaust emissions3-4-Strong. chocking smell Air Quality0-None1-2- Evidence of small scale damage3-4-Graffiti and deliberate damageVandalismSpace0- Your the only one present1-2- small groups3-4-large crowds in close proximity Litter

0 metres from path1 metre from path 3 metres from path5 metres from path7 metres from path9 metres from pathResults for Trampling InvestigationExplanation of ResultsConclusionEnvironmental issuesI found out that my hypothesis was wrong in view point centre would be the worst effected but I was wrong as shown in my results that the visitors centre was the worst because it received a higher score as the vistor centre got a total of 16 where as the view point got a total of 10. This might of been because the visitors centre is a lot busier as there is the sound of the road which also damages the air quality and not a lot of space as there were scattered benches crowding the scene also a few scattered parts of litter is on the ground. The cleanest or less effected area was Lodge Hill which scored a total of 2 because we were told that not many people know were Lodge Hill is probably because it is very hard to find and is right at the back of Box Hill.and because of this there is no litter, vandalism etc.

Trampling InvestigationI found out that the further away I went away from the eroded path there was a greater of variety of vegetation because it is away from the erosion it has more chance of not being 'trampled' on as it is off the path so less people would go there and also therefore more variety of vegetation can grow like Salad Burnets. And also the further i went away from the path the plant height grew probably because that less people 'trampled' on them hence the name and also the soil depth went up because less people walked on that ground so that ground would be less compacted.I thoroughly enjoyed my day at Box Hill and learning about how Box Hill is effected by vegetation and tourism from past times to present day because I learned many different facts about Box Hill which I thought was interesting.

During the day I found out many things of somethings I didn't even know like Box Hill was made up of 1000 football pitches! and there are 14 different species of butterfly at Box hill.

In order to make my project even more of a success I would spend a longer time on Box Hill and visit Box Hill in different seasons of the year so I would have a very fair account on Box Hill or maybe I would visit at a weekend because it might be busier than a week-day. And to make my results more objective I would of spent more time studying on that day and if possible I would of used more accurate equipment and high tech equipment.

The Places I visited at Box HillAnd another aspect of Box Hill I am yet to study and adventure is How does Box Hill impact local inhabitants of Surrey, Dorking? and how has the change of fame effected Dorking? Unfortunately there are so many things you can do in a day so I was unable to study these topics.HypothesisMy hypothesis for the environmental impact investigation was the view point.

My hypothesis for the trampling investigation was the further I went away from the path the more there was a bigger variety of vegetation compared to close to the path because that area had been more eroded and targeted by tourists.. Also I predicted that the soil depth would go up because the land would be less compacted as you got away from the path and so would the plant height.

Results for Max plant Height Investigation Chart to show maximum plant heightMetres from pathResults for Soil Depth InvestigationMetres from pathChart to show soil depthBox Hill Butterfly!

Current school: Yardley Court, Future school: Tonbridge SchoolWe chose these four different places on Box Hill because they are all different which would make it more interesting and you would have different results because they are on different parts of the hill. As the weather effects different parts depending where it is. As some of the locations are more protected then adverse winds like Lodge Hill other are more out in the open like Buford Spur and the View Point.. This is an example an micro-climate. There is also an effect of human impacts example: the Visitors Centre might possibly have more litter than a more remote place like Lodge Hill, as we know, visitors tend not to walk far from their cars.

We measured these Environmental impacts by remaining quiet for a minute to listen to the noise of the surrounding e.g local traffic, tourists and bird song and breathe in the air. After this we then wandered around to see if there was any dog fouling or vandalism or litter. We repeated this for all four locations. In each location we made a note of the amount of dog fouling, litter, vandalism and the noises that we heard and recorded this information in the table provided.Environmental Results graded as set out in the key Environmental hazardsBy studying the four different locations it was established that tourism had different effects on the vegetation and surrounding area in each location. By showing clear evidence of trampling by Buford Spur and the evidence of environmental impact at the other locations it may provide useful information the National Trust to consider in conserving the habitat. By establishing that there was an increase in instances of dog fouling and litter in the areas used most by the members of the public e.g the View Point, it might be useful for the National Trust to know how to target their resources e.g providing more litter bins and dog fouling bins and notices to keep to the paths. It would help them to focus their management of Box Hill saving them money and time and other resources .Environmental Results graded as set out in the key Environmental hazardsEnvironmental Results graded as set out in the key Environmental hazardsEnvironmental hazardsEnvironmental Results graded as set out in the key